IMPORTANT NOTE: As of February 2020 MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon site. A subscription costs $3/month. During January 2020 only you can download the puzzles for free on this page (see below under “This Week’s Instructions”).
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Title: “Mystery Movie”
Instructions: This week’s contest answer is a Spike Lee movie that should be in this grid, but isn’t.
Answer: MO’ BETTER BLUES
Five theme entries last week, which were:
16-A: [Head of a Prohibition-Era crime family] = MA BARKER. Was she really its leader, or just a figurehead? Historians, discuss.
24-A: [Opposite of “same here”] = ME NEITHER. Are those really opposites, or more like counterparts? Grammarians, discuss.
38-A: [Words that welcome] = MI CASA ES SU CASA. Tough to parse until you realize it’s not in English.
50-A: [Chinese dish served with tortilla-like pancakes] = MU SHU PORK. Is it “mu” or “moo”? Transliterators, discuss. But Food Network goes with Mu, and I sure did here.
62-A: [Eminem song whose video features Dr. Dre and Gheorghe Muresan] = MY NAME IS.
So we’ve got a MA, ME, MI, MU, and MY, but where’s our MO? In contest answer Mo’ Better Blues, in which Denzel Washington plays a jazz trumpeter.
Magoo says:
TGIFF – Thank God It’s First Friday
chickenwire is new here, and is 1-for-1:
First contest puzzle! Loved it!
Also 1-for-1 in 2020 is Tyler Hinman:
I’m not delusional enough to think I’ll have a perfect year, but I’d like to eclipse last year’s mark.
Pundog reminds me:
Oh Matt. Spike doesn’t make movies, he makes joints.
Tim P says:
As a Red Sox fan, I would’ve preferred Mo Vaughn.
And finally, docison says:
Now I have to figure out this Patreon thing…
It all ended well — he figured it out! And it’s pretty easy, so don’t be intimidated. And now here’s the latest switchover info…
PATREON SWITCHOVER UPDATE:
Weekly Patreon tips and updates for Janaury:
1) We’re up to 414 solvers who’ve made the switch over to Patreon! Thanks very much to everyone who’s made the leap early; you’ve still got four weeks to switch without missing a puzzle, but I certainly appreciate those who’ve given the new site this early boost.
2) For real this time! Today’s puzzle should be the last one sent out via the usual Friday e-mail. After this week you’ll need to either download the puzzle files from this page (see below under “This Week’s Instructions”) or receive it via Patreon. I’m test-sending the files out this afternoon to Patreon backers; if all goes well, we’ll make the switch next week. If all doesn’t go well, we’ll send it out all three ways again next week. I’m glad January has five Fridays to figure all this out in…
3) All December payments have been refunded. If you paid for December but don’t receive your refund by the middle of next week, please e-mail me at the usual crosswordcontest@gmail.com address and I’ll look into it.
4) You can always feel free to contact me with concerns, compliments, vitriol, etc. at either crosswordcontest@gmail.com or via Patreon messaging. Either way gets to me very quickly.
4) Again, let me know if you run into any trouble downloading the PDF, JPZ, or Across Lite files from the site today. They might not be up until after noon, but you’ll of course be receiving the puzzle by mail as usual plus via Patreon so it shouldn’t hold anyone up.
5) January is nominally free for everyone, but the actual time you won’t be charged for a month is March. So Patreon supporters (and MGWCC subscription holders) are being charged for January and February, but won’t be charged for March.
The reason for this is that it’s much easier logistically for me; to turn off payments for March it’s literally one click, but to refund payments for January and then February would be a major logistical hassle. So “Free January” is really “Free March” but it’s all the same in the end.
6) I’m still figuring out the most efficient way to let all MGWCC subscribers know how many months/years they have left in their subscriptions, but don’t let that stop you from signing up at Patreon. I’ll still need to have you in the Patreon system, so if you’re waiting to sign up for Patreon until I’ve figured out how to transfer the remainder of your MGWCC subscription over to Patreon, please don’t wait — just go ahead and sign up. It’s easier for me logistically this way, and rest assured that you will get full credit for the remainder of your MGWCC subscription at Patreon.
That’s it for now! Contact me if you have any question, and I’ll be back with a new update next week. And now here’s Week 2 of 5 for January:
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a Denzel Washington movie.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.